Security Report

White House officials yesterday kicked off the annual data collection effort mandated under Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002.

While the reporting requirements for federal agencies haven't changed much, the mechanisms of submitting data are new this year, according to a memo from U.S. Chief Information Officer Vivek Kundra and Office of Management and Budget Deputy Director Jeffrey Zients.

"This year, rather than using spreadsheets, the annual FISMA report data collection will occur via an automated reporting tool," they wrote.

In addition to reporting on the status of their information security programs, agencies must also submit updated plans for eliminating "unneccessary use" of social security numbers and reducing the "holdings" of personally identifiable information, the memo states.